a bitmap font generator is now available for Mac : bmGlyph.
it generates the bitmap and the atlas file which can be used by the above class.

It has realtime rendering, a preview mode and many features: cast shadow, stroke, colors (plain, glossy), gradient and you can even import your own texture which will be applied on each glyph. It is also possible to work on each glyph without affecting the others (for example, having different colors for numbers etc...). The texture is resized automatically according to the settings, and an AutoSD option is available, which allow you to easily create bitmap fonts for retina display.